KEY defender Tom McDonald says a lack of effort and a quick loss of confidence were the reasons for his side’s miserable second half against Greater Western Sydney at StarTrack Oval on Saturday.
The Demons coughed up a 32-point lead in the second quarter, before losing by 45 points, after GWS kicked a remarkable 14 goals straight.
McDonald said Melbourne’s poor performance after a most encouraging start was extremely frustrating.
“Not even the second quarter was great either. After the first quarter, we were lucky they (GWS) missed easy shots and then in the second half, they started kicking those goals,” he told Dee TV.
“It was just a really poor performance and not enough effort there.
“That’s what happens – they kick 14 goals in a row and you lose the game.”
McDonald said too many Melbourne heads dropped when GWS started its run-on.
“You can tell it’s turning when they get a run on and they start celebrating and we’ve got guys with our heads down,” he said.
“The disappointing thing was the same thing happened last week after they (Gold Coast Suns) kicked two or three goals on the run. We were able to turn it around, get another goal and get a few stoppages in a row and settle the game down, but it just didn’t happen this week.
“That’s the disappointing part – I thought we’d be able to stop the flow early on, but it wasn’t the case.”